Known to the rest of the world as trolleybuses, Philadelphia was the first
city to regularly operate "trackless trolleys". Primitive tracklesses were
first introduced in 1923, on Oregon Avenue in South Philadelphia. The
photograph at left shows one of the first trackless trolleys, in service
on Route 80 in October of that year. (Click on the image to view a larger
photo.)

Philadelphia's second trackless route, Route 61 -- this time equipped
with more modern trolley coaches -- began operation 1941. Route 61 ran the
length of Ridge Avenue from Venice Island (an industrial island bounded
by the Schuylkill Navigation canal in Manayunk) to Center City at 8th &
Locust (later 8th & Walnut). Trackless trolleys were removed from Routes
80 and 61 in 1960 and 1961 respectively. Routes 29 and 79 have been "suspended"
by SEPTA since 2003, but three trackless trolley lines remain in service
today. The three surviving electric trolleybus lines lines operate out of
Frankford Depot in the lower Northeast section of Philadelphia.The photograph at right shows Brill trackless trolley no. 158 in service
on Route 61. PTC drivers nicknamed this series of trackless trolleys "jeeps."
Location is Ridge Avenue at Schoolhouse Lane; date is March 6, 1954. (Click
on the image to view a larger photo, courtesy of the R. S. Short collection.)

The map at left shows the pre-2003 trackless trolley system in green. Dashed
green lines show previously abandoned trackless routes. To place the
trackless routes in context, the Market-Frankford El and Broad Street Subway
lines are shown in black. Click on the map for an enlarged view.

Trackless trolleys combine the best features of trolleys, that is, their
minimal levels of noise and air pollution, with the flexibility of a bus; that
is, they can steer around obstructions in the street. One only has to stand
at a street corner as a trackless trolley pulls away from a stop to appreciate
the total lack of diesel fumes and engine roar, compared to a diesel bus. As
cities realize the importance of maintaining the Quality of Life in their neighborhoods,
the benefits of trackless trolley service should be obvious.

As late as 1981, SEPTA kept two fleets of ancient trackless trolleys in service.
Brill tracklesses built in 1947 equipped the Routes 29 and 79 in South Philadelphia.
Marmon-Herrington tracklesses built in 1949 and 1955 operated on the Routes
59, 66, and 75 in North and Northeast Philadelphia. Most of the photos on this
page show the Brills and Marmons in their last years.

In 1981, a fleet of 110 new AM General trolleybuses were purchased to replace
the Brills and Marmons. At first, the new electrics were so trouble-prone that
the manufacturer was forced to recall the entire fleet. More than one driver
of an AMG had been jolted by 600 volts when putting the pole up to the wire.
Once the problems with the AMGs were ironed out (and AM General dropped out
of the trolleybus-building business), the old green Marmons and Brills were
finally retired in the summer of 1981.

In June 2003, the SEPTA board voted to suspend all trackless trolley
service "for one year."

With the AM General trackless trolleys in need of replacement, new ETBs were
procured. Anti-electric pro-diesel bus factions in SEPTA management used that
opportunity to further dismantle the electric transit infrastructure inherited
from PTC. Only enough trolleybuses were ordered to serve the three Northeast
Philadelphia electric routes. The south Philadelphia routes would be served
by diesel buses -- this despite opposition from half a dozen South Philadelphia
neighborhood groups, the Clean Air Council, and others. SEPTA proved, once again, that it is an agency accountable
to no one.

June 2007 -- The pilot New Flyer trackless trolley, no. 800, arrived in Philadelphia
for testing. Thirty-seven more would follow, and currently provide service on
Routes 59, 66 and 79.

Trackless trolleys continue to serve on this route, although ridership
has declined in recent years. In these photos, AM General trackless 826
heads westbound on Route 75. El and terminal reconstruction at the eastern
end of this line forced the substition of diesel buses for several years.
September 1999 photos by Mike Szilagyi

Trackless trolley service on Routes 59 and 66 stretches into far Northeast
Philadelphia. At the turn of the 21st century, many neighborhoods in the
"far northeast" had not seen the demographic shifts that have occurred
in other neighborhoods: crime rates tend to be lower and urban blight contained
to small pockets. This photo was taken in the spring of 2000 on a beautiful
stretch of Castor Avenue in the lower northeast, just a couple blocks west
of Frankford. AMG trackless 857 southbound on Castor Avenue in April 2000, photo by
Mike Szilagyi. This is one of two AMG coaches retrofitted with a ThermoKing
air conditioner.

Until 2003, trackless trolleys served Routes 29 and 79 in South Philadelphia,
on Tasker and Morris Streets, and Snyder Avenue respectively. At the location
in this photo, overhead wires for the Route 79 trackless intersect with
those of the Route 23 trolley on 12th Street. Also visible in the photo
is the trolley track used by Route 23 streetcars turning back at Snyder
Avenue. Streetcars have not operated on the Route 23 since 1992 (save for
occasional charters and seasonal special service).

In the early 1990s, SEPTA briefly considered converting at least the
southern portion of Route 23 trolley (by then a diesel bus line) to trackless
trolleys. This would have connected the separate South Philly and Northeast
Philly portions of the trackless system. Anti-electric pro-diesel factions
in SEPTA management won the argument, so the South Philly trackless trolley
lines were abandoned instead. AMG trackless 833 westbound on Snyder Avenue in May 1999, photo by
Mike Szilagyi